This Woman Says BetterHelp Drained Her Bank Account, Which Doesn't Feel Like a Good Therapy Tactic

In 2013, a new way to find a therapist was made available to any and all who needed it. BetterHelp promised to "make professional therapy accessible, affordable, and convenient — so anyone who struggles with life's challenges can get help, anytime and anywhere," or so their website claims. Unfortunately it doesn't always live up to its promises.

According to one girl on TikTok, BetterHelp charged her $300 for doing absolutely nothing. She wasn't even matched with a therapist before the app drained her entire bank account. Sadly this left her unable to pay her rent, which could not have been good for her mental health. Here's what happened.

TikTok user @chronichailey's bio says she's "about realness and discussing living with chronic illness!" In May 2023, she dropped some realness onto the social media platform when she called out BetterHelp for their bad behavior. According to the distraught young woman, she has been searching for a therapist for nearly a year when she decided to try BetterHelp. "I feel like I've exhausted all my options," she said.

"I thought it was a great idea to try BetterHelp," shared Hailey. "It was not a good idea. It was the worst idea." The content creator revealed that as she was signing up for the app, she was tasked with entering payment information which Hailey felt was strange. But, what are you going to do when you need help? That's when things took a turn.

"So tell me why before I was even matched with a therapist — and it states on their website they don't charge you until you're matched with a therapist — tell me why they took all my money," she said. BetterHelp left Hailey without the ability to pay rent, or even treat herself to a cup of coffee after work. "I have chronic illness and I'm exhausted," she said (hence the coffee). BetterHelp's customer service told her it would take a day to fix the problem while her bank suggested she get a new card. She then urged content creators to stop taking BetterHelp's ad money.

In a subsequent TikTok, Hailey had an update for the folks who were concerned about her battle with BetterHelp. "I did end up getting my money back," she revealed. She received an email from the company over Memorial Day weekend 2023 which was shocking. Thankfully, they are refunding the charge.

However, they didn't let Hailey off the hook. The mental health app engaged in some good old-fashioned victim-blaming. "In the email they were making it sound like it was my fault, and I just didn't know what I was doing," she said. Hailey was aware that she was going to be charged at some point, but that point wasn't supposed to come until after she matched with a therapist. "I hadn't even been recommended one yet," said Hailey. The process will take a couple of days but Hailey said she was hopeful she would be able to pay her bills in time.